Power loss at low altitude is a nightmare scenario for pilots, and the subject of much debate. We look at a total power loss, as well as the often overlooked (but still deadly) partial loss of power.

Learn how to:

• Preload your decision in the event of a power loss (using your EFB and a takeoff briefing)
• Detect engine problems early to avoid losing valuable seconds when they count most
• Troubleshoot by feel and memory—or don’t (we tell you when to do each)
• Use the rule of 10° to keep your maneuvering within safe limits
• Make a rolling series of commitments to get an airplane with partial power back on the ground safely
• Properly practice the Push and the Turnback (at altitude)
• Avoid common (and deadly) mistakes when committing to an off-field landing
• Prevent some airborne power losses entirely by using a mnemonic on the takeoff roll

When you lose power in cruise, the good news is you have time. But what should you do with that time? One flexible strategy can cover a complete power loss, a smooth power drop, and surging RPM.

Learn how to:

• Back up your flow with checklists and amplified procedures
• Better understand the effects of using carb heat
• Use your EFB to continuously play a “what if” game as you fly
• Quickly configure your airplane to give you best-glide speed
• Maintain aircraft control while you troubleshoot the problem
• Get a reality check when the engine seems to be running roughly
• Maximize your time aloft if you’re right over a potential landing site
• Make short-range goals and maintain a hopscotch mentality
• Practice different engine-out landing scenarios on every flight

Aircraft fires may be rare, but they rank high among pilots’ worst fears. We look at the common causes of fire on the ground and in the air, and what to do.

Learn how to:

• Decide when it’s safe to keep cranking with a startup fire and when it’s not
• Reduce the risk of having a brake fire
• React if you smell smoke on the takeoff roll
• Tell the difference between burning oil, hydraulic fluid, plastics—and a fuel fire
• Put out the flames, and clear the air of smoke and toxic fumes
• Safely make a rapid emergency descent
• Evacuate the airplane (and what to do after that)
• Upgrade your aircraft interior with fire-retardant materials
• Practice the fire procedures for your airplane
• Properly use a fire extinguisher and smoke hood

When you’re in a graveyard spiral, upside down from wake turbulence, or in a spin, there’s no time for doubt. We review all three scenarios, and what to do any time seconds count. 

Learn how to:

• Retrain your instincts to avoid overspeeding or overstressing the airframe
• Effectively practice spiral dive recovery in an airplane or a simulator
• Neutralize and push to unload the wings and reduce load factor (even though it feels counterintuitive)
• Use all your senses to detect and avoid flight upsets
• Determine whether you’re in a spin or a steep spiral (and why knowing matters)
• Avoid go around stalls and base-to-final spins, and practice recovering from them safely
• Avoid the common mistakes that lead to wake turbulence upsets
• Give yourself the best chance to survive an inadvertent thunderstorm encounter
• Root your upset recovery skills in real-world sights and sensations

Control failures can be disorienting and can quickly lead to unrecoverable upsets. We use elevator troubles, split flaps, and a broken throttle to explore the actions and attitudes you’ll need to survive.

Learn how to:

• Prevent the situation from getting away from you in the first few seconds—and maintain control
• Assess the damage by trying again, or by undoing the last thing you did
• Carefully test controllability, come up with creative work-arounds, and practice them at altitude
• Quickly recognize and recover from runaway trim
• Use your trim (and a test pilot attitude) to deal with a jammed elevator
• Prepare your cockpit—and your passengers—to ensure the flight controls can always move freely
• Use a simulator to practice recognizing and dealing with unexpected flight control malfunctions

Engine failures are always a big deal. But when it comes to failures of other systems, context is everything. There’s a big difference between an alternator failure at night in VMC, a PFD airspeed failure in IMC, and a misbehaving autopilot in haze. We explore these three situations to show the difference.

Learn how to:

• Keep flying and allocate enough time to make a correct diagnosis
• Avoid confusion and disorientation in the seconds immediately following an instrument failure
• Build a habit of downgrading to a lower level of automation before disconnecting the autopilot when it’s misbehaving
• Assess the situation and get the most from the systems (and time) you still have available
• Plan for what’s likely, but be prepared for the worst
• Use “triangles of agreement” to validate that the problem is what you think it is
• Use your performance profiles to make an instrument failure feel less like an emergency

Most VFR-into-IMC accidents are fatal. But by accepting that you’re in IMC, and flying like you’re in IMC (especially if you’re instrument rated), you can avoid becoming a statistic. Whether it’s a scud run gone wrong, clouds at night, or low visibility in snow showers, we’ll help you escape.

Learn how to:

• Quickly and safely transition to instrument flight (mechanical or glass)
• Fly straight and level by hand in IMC without overcontrolling
• Use an autopilot to maintain control (and how to choose—and verify—the most appropriate lateral and vertical modes)
• Decide if climbing, descending, or turning makes sense
• Make your escape simple and predictable using the autopilot or a simplified instrument scan
• Let ATC help you find the nearest VFR or MFVR conditions while avoiding terrain and obstacles (or guide you all the way to the ground in IMC)
• Build a solid emergency scan using the basic control-performance loop
• Use “objective decision points” to resist the urge to press on when the weather is marginal
• Mitigate the risks of VFR flight on a clear, moonless night

Whether it’s you or a passenger with a sudden medical problem, your job as PIC is to limit the issue, divert for landing, and keep your cool along the way. We look at airsickness, choking, and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Learn how to:

• Enlist ATC to get you the help you need in the air and on the ground
• Mitigate passenger stress—and your stress—with your intercom and radio
• Interpret readings from a CO detector, and what to know when they get too high
• Help a passenger avoid airsickness, and offer relief once it starts
• Remove the siren song of flying “just a bit farther” to see if an issue resolves
• Pack snacks and drinks that will keep you hydrated without requiring additional stops
• Keep your cool during decent and landing by setting “targets”
• Create a simple tool for passengers that could save the day if you’re suddenly incapacitated
• Find the lowest altitude where you should consider supplemental oxygen, using an inexpensive pulse oximeter

An open door in flight or a heater failure in the cold may not be an emergency—unless you make it one. We explore ways to prevent these and other distractions from becoming more serious issues.

Learn how to:

• Distinguish between a distraction that you can ignore (for now) and an emergency
• Mitigate a distraction’s disruption to your normal flow of tasks
• Eliminate wind noise on the intercom if a door pops open in flight
• Deal with an open door during an IFR departure in IMC
• Make sure your checklists aren’t a distraction that cause more problems than they solve
• Pack wisely for a high-altitude or winter flight to buy some time if your heater fails
• Decide whether to continue the flight as planned, or divert and make a new plan
• Avoid letting an honest mistake turn into a dangerous distraction
• Use map layers to alleviate distractions when navigating near busy Class B airspace

Most landing complications aren’t life-threatening as long as you keep flying the airplane. But when the landing gear won’t extend, the brakes fail, or there’s an excessive crosswind, that’s easier said than done. We’ll set you up for a successful outcome.

Learn how to:

• Enlist ATC and the autopilot to help address the problem
• Mitigate a problem’s negative effect if you aren’t able to correct it
• Minimize your odds of making an embarrassing, expensive gear-up landing
• Decide whether to land on two wheels or none when the third wheel won’t extend
• Set your passengers’ minds at ease while briefing them for an abnormal landing
• Think outside the box as you pick a runway and a strategy for a very strong crosswind
• Create your own Landing Checklist that you’ll easily see and use
• Practice no-brake landings to prepare for a real brake failure someday
• Keep control if you discover a landing complication right after touchdown

Once you accept that an off-airport “landing” is inevitable, you have some work to do—quickly. Flying into the trees, crashing in an urban jungle, or ditching in the water is rarely pretty. But there’s plenty you can do to improve your odds of surviving.

Learn how to:

• Use your radio, transponder, and ELT to get help rolling before you crash
• Load the cabin before departure in a way that minimizes potential injuries
• Have access to the things you’ll need the most after a crash
• Brief your passengers on what to do after the crash (especially if you didn’t brief them before takeoff)
• Minimize the forces that cause the most injuries during a crash
• Pick the best trees to crash into
• Increase the likelihood you’ll survive a crash onto a highway, a road, or into a parking lot
• Ditch so you’ll maximize your chances of escaping … and being rescued
• Get the most protection from seatbelts, and learn when to unbuckle them after crashing (or when to do something else first)
• Create a simple survival kit and learn why you should take a survival course